Parties descend on Kathiramangalam

The rally, which extended for more than a kilometre at Sivaramapuram on Kumbakonam-Mayiladuthurai road, was attended by Vaiko (Genral Secretary MDMK), R Mutharasan (State Secretary CPI), Balakrishnan (Central Committee member CPM), as well as by functionaries from DMK, Congress, TMC and farmers’ associations. The rally ended at Ayyanar temple premises where a public meeting was organised. 

The leaders, who addressed the meeting, condemned the police action against the people and the arrest of 10 protesters including Professor Jayaraman, the coordinator of the anti-methane project. They demanded the immediate release of the arrested persons. 

Vaiko pointed out that the late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had assured the people that the state government will never allow the setting up of methane project, which she had termed anti-people. “But now, they try to enter by giving different names like shale gas and hydrocarbon project. 

ONGC has been planning to extract gas by deepening its wells,” Vaiko said. Charging that the projects of ONGC are against people, Vaiko said that it is ridiculous that those who were protesting against the anti-people project have been arrested. 

“Tamil Nadu government is sowing evil and will certainly reap evil,” the MDMK leader added. He asked the chief minister to understand why people are protesting and to release those who were arrested. He urged the ONGC to stop their work, otherwise political parties will join the public stir, warned Vaiko. 

Meanwhile, CPI State Secretary R Mutharasan said that the chief minister has been blindly following what has been told by the district administration. He must understand the ground reality, he said, and added that the projects that were opposed by the late chief minister has been implemented now and “this reveals the status of the present government.”